One dead, several injured in incident involving a roller coaster at Six Flags in Georgia

Six Flags temporarily closed nine roller coasters across six amusement parks on Monday after one person died and several others were injured in an incident involving a coaster in Georgia.

Officials did not confirm how the person died, nor how the others were injured or their medical conditions after the incident at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 24 kilometres northwest of Atlanta.

Cobb County Police Department major crimes unit detectives are investigating.

Attractions at the parks that are similar to the coaster in Austell, Georgia, were closed “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a Six Flags Entertainment Corporation spokesperson, who said staff members and local authorities responded immediately and the park is co-operating with the investigation.

“We are deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park today,” the spokesperson said, adding that the company is providing support to guests and staff who were impacted.

Authorities and Six Flags did not identify the roller coaster. However, local TV stations showed video of passengers being evacuated from the Goliath coaster.

Goliath, which was opened in 2006, reaches a top speed of 113 kph with a height of 61 metres, according to the park’s website.

During about 3 1/2 minutes, riders “navigate through razor-sharp turns and soar over colossal hills,” the website says.

Lisa Cupid, Cobb County Board of Commissioners chairwoman, said next of kin of the deceased person have been notified.

“I cannot imagine the horror the patrons and employees witnessed today, and my heart aches for the family who lost a loved one,” Cupid said. “We are all grappling with how something so devastating could happen at a place that has given generations of families such happy memories.”

The park is a major part of the county’s tourism and brings in visitors from across the Southeast, Cupid said.

The death would be at least the seventh at the Georgia park, including one in 2006 in which a man had a likely heart attack on the Goliath coaster, according to the Doan Law Firm, which tallies amusement park accidents and represents victims.

It also comes less than two weeks after Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California announced the retirement of its famous X2 roller coaster following lawsuits alleging serious brain injury caused by the ride. The park settled one wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022.

Last year, a 32-year-old man died from blunt impact injuries after riding a high-speed roller coaster at the Universal Epic Universe theme park in Florida. His death was ruled accidental.